4 ms·

When "I have been in this industry longer than anyone on that site" is a cornerstone of your defence, you've already lost. Also, I know the UK has really strict

When "I have been in this industry longer than anyone on that site" is a cornerstone of your defence, you've already lost. Also, I know the UK has really strict laws, but I doubt he'd be able to sue for "liable".

almost 15y ago
Actually we do have ridicules libel laws here in the UK. If someone accuses you of libel the onus is on you to prove that you didn't.
- rmc 15y ago
  I think the point is that someone who can't spell libel correctly is not very scary.
  - almost 15y ago
    Stupid people can still cause huge amounts of trouble. With legal things like that maybe even more so than non-stupid people. Also, apparently I can't spell "ridiculous" :p
    - dredmorbius 15y ago
      Inconceivable! Very good point on idiots causing huge amounts of trouble. Ouch, thanks for reminding me.
VladRussian 15y ago
being that ignorant and having important hi-tech industry job - he's already won.
arethuza 15y ago
Nitpick: there are no such things as "UK libel laws" - England and Wales have one system, Scotland has a completely different set of laws.
- Tyrannosaurs 15y ago
  This is true but the distinction is pretty minimal. Scots judges have traditionally followed the English lead seeing no sense in having different interpretations North and South of the border for the same story in potentially the same publication. About the only real difference when it comes to defence is that up here you can defend something based on it being made in the heat of an argument, and that the person claiming defamation has to be able to show harm (though not necessarily financial).
  - gordonguthrie 15y ago
    Having been involved on the periphery of a major criminal case which started off as a defamation case (there being no libel in Scotland) I can assure you that that is not the case. Scottish Defamation and English Libel are quite different laws. A number of people have made good money from arbitraging the difference.
    - Tyrannosaurs 15y ago
      I understand that it's defamation (which combines both libel and slander) but what other differences are there?
      - arethuza 15y ago
        According to this BBC article about the Tommy Sheridan case : "In Scotland, only compensatory damages are allowed. Punitive damages are not competent." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/5246716.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/5246716.stm There are a lot of differences between English and Scots law - the most obvious being the extra verdict of "not proven" in criminal cases.
        Tyrannosaurs 15y ago
        I know there are a lot of differences (I'm English and live in Scotland), just my understanding of libel / defamation is that broadly the nature of rulings was similar - essentially that Scotland's system while slightly different wasn't that much better than the English system.
dredmorbius 15y ago
It's a flat lie as well. He doesn't know, and can't know, everyone commenting to HN. At best hes fabricating. I was going to top post that but checked first to see if anyone had surfaced that line. The auditor is an idiot and feels cornered. Also: "I'm going to assume you do not have PCI installed on your servers". PCI is an auditing standard. Not something "you have installed on your servers". And I guess I'm getting too far ahead of myself, because the OP comments on this in his serverfault posting. Classic! "PCI SSC have responded and are investigating him and the company. " I'd say samarudge did a bang-on job here.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- jhamburger 15y ago
  He should have explained that the servers don't have any more PCI slots available.

almost 15y ago

Actually we do have ridicules libel laws here in the UK. If someone accuses you of libel the onus is on you to prove that you didn't.

rmc 15y ago
I think the point is that someone who can't spell libel correctly is not very scary.
- almost 15y ago
  Stupid people can still cause huge amounts of trouble. With legal things like that maybe even more so than non-stupid people. Also, apparently I can't spell "ridiculous" :p
  - dredmorbius 15y ago
    Inconceivable! Very good point on idiots causing huge amounts of trouble. Ouch, thanks for reminding me.

VladRussian 15y ago

being that ignorant and having important hi-tech industry job - he's already won.

arethuza 15y ago

Nitpick: there are no such things as "UK libel laws" - England and Wales have one system, Scotland has a completely different set of laws.

Tyrannosaurs 15y ago
This is true but the distinction is pretty minimal. Scots judges have traditionally followed the English lead seeing no sense in having different interpretations North and South of the border for the same story in potentially the same publication. About the only real difference when it comes to defence is that up here you can defend something based on it being made in the heat of an argument, and that the person claiming defamation has to be able to show harm (though not necessarily financial).
- gordonguthrie 15y ago
  Having been involved on the periphery of a major criminal case which started off as a defamation case (there being no libel in Scotland) I can assure you that that is not the case. Scottish Defamation and English Libel are quite different laws. A number of people have made good money from arbitraging the difference.
  - Tyrannosaurs 15y ago
    I understand that it's defamation (which combines both libel and slander) but what other differences are there?
    - arethuza 15y ago
      According to this BBC article about the Tommy Sheridan case : "In Scotland, only compensatory damages are allowed. Punitive damages are not competent." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/5246716.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/5246716.stm There are a lot of differences between English and Scots law - the most obvious being the extra verdict of "not proven" in criminal cases.
      - Tyrannosaurs 15y ago
        I know there are a lot of differences (I'm English and live in Scotland), just my understanding of libel / defamation is that broadly the nature of rulings was similar - essentially that Scotland's system while slightly different wasn't that much better than the English system.

dredmorbius 15y ago

It's a flat lie as well. He doesn't know, and can't know, everyone commenting to HN. At best hes fabricating. I was going to top post that but checked first to see if anyone had surfaced that line. The auditor is an idiot and feels cornered. Also: "I'm going to assume you do not have PCI installed on your servers". PCI is an auditing standard. Not something "you have installed on your servers". And I guess I'm getting too far ahead of myself, because the OP comments on this in his serverfault posting. Classic! "PCI SSC have responded and are investigating him and the company. " I'd say samarudge did a bang-on job here.

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
jhamburger 15y ago
He should have explained that the servers don't have any more PCI slots available.